Templars of Meridia
The Templars of Meridia (simply but not strictly referred to as Templars,) are a secular order of previous Soul Shriven during the height of the Planemeld Crisis during the Three-Banners War. Along with the Fighters Guild and Mages Guild of the Second Era, the soon-to-be faction fought a decisive war against the forces of Molag Bal and other forces that threatened to tear apart the civilizations of Tamriel. Sometime after the end of the Planemeld Crisis, the Templars began withdrawing from the known world and fell more and more into isolationism yet keeping tabs with the people of the Mundus. After the rise of Tiber Septim, they seemed to have abandoned the people of Tamriel, retreating to their realm in their continued devotion to study and practice; the accumulation and preservation of any and all knowledge. History When the Planemeld Crisis reached it's peak, and the Three-Banners War keeping most of the troops of the Covenant, Dominion, and Pact fighting in Cyrodiil, the Mages Guild and the Fighters Guild set themselves as the first line of defense against Molag Bal and his forces. When their efforts against the Daedric Prince ultimately takes them to the realm of Oblivion along with similar like-minded individuals, a group of Soul-Shriven found it necessary to form an order that would effectively serve as a shield for the people of Tamriel from Molag Bal. After the end of the Planemeld Crisis in the favor of the mortal races, the fledgling Order continued to repel the forces of the Daedra until their purpose became less and less clear as time passed. Ultimately, a majority of the Order withdrew to the Hollow City and left those that stayed behind in Nirn to their own lives, despite keeping some limited form of contact between each other. Many within the Order that stayed in the Mundus gradually turned into warped views when Tamriel fell further and further into stasis and a backward way-of-life. Those that splintered from the Order in Craglorn ultimately became the Blackheart Privateers, with the original members in their city-state of Hel Ra left weakened due to almost 70% of their original numbers abandoning their original ways. In the Fourth Era, the presence of the Order were near to non-existent, having fell into isolationism and refusing to make contact with the outside world except in the rarest of occurences, offering invitation to only a select few that earned their attention. Culture Government The Templars are known to keep a strict oligarchy based on the principle of the previous first council, which is addressed directly to initiates that pass the necessary background checks. Hence, only those with the appropriate theory and practical skills may apply to become part of the order, and additional training is needed once one becomes a proper member of the higher echelons. This has been practiced even before the growth of the order in size akin to a city-state. Promotions are handed out based on merit to civil servants. The government of the Templars contain a strict heirarcy of command. The High Templar Council was known to posses the most power, with the Sentinels, Wardens, Guardians, and Templars having lesser powers respectively. The council operates based on a Parliament system, with all powers belonging not to a single person but the entire council under an unwritten but known stricture. The Justice system is known to work differently compared to other civilizations. Rarely criminals are ever sent to prison due to the strong draconian punishment against those labelled as the worst. The length of a sentence depends on the bounty value of the criminal, with serious offenses (such as murder and assault) adding more value to the criminal's head. Disreputable individuals are minor criminals siezed immediately by State Guardsmen and required to serve sentence with no possibility of parole and paying the fine. Notorious individuals are immediately siezed with necessary force for arrest and their arms and armor deemed forfeit, and those under the status of a Fugitive are considered Kill-on-Sight by all State Guardsmen and by extension the military except in the rarest of cases. Resisting arrest is also known to get a lawbreaker the status of a Fugitive in some cases. Aid programs carried out by the Order do not focus in directly helping the needy, but rather provide for free education, healthcare, food and training for children to be repurposed into useful members of society, despite the teachings of religion still considered a corruptive influence to them, instead teaching them to work for themselves and earn their keep rather than turn to criminal activity. Trivia * Despite their opposing views against the gods, religion and it's followers, certain gods, whom they refer to as merely beings of great power, earned only a neutral view from the Templars. Currently, only Zenithar is the Divine that had ever gained the neutral standing. Specific Daedric Princes such as Mehrunes Dagon are also frowned upon by the Templars. Category:Factions